Episode 9 of The Good Life: July 2016: Blood Bank, Treasured Possessions, the last ‘ism’ and lamb pizza!

I had a lot of fun writing the blog posts on our recent trip, The Ultimate Australian Rail Holiday, but it did mean I fell behind in a number of other things on the “to-do” list, and one of them was to post the July and August episodes of The Good Life.

In Episode 9, linked below, our presenters were busy out and about:

• Kerryn went off to the Blood Donor Centre to talk to people who give their all  for a good cause.
• Pat explored the importance of our treasured possessions, and I think this piece will touch a chord with many of my readers, as it did with me. I am definitely off to the Wollongong Art Gallery to see this exhibition – organised by the Centre of History of Emotions – first hand.
• Ben and Pete are back in the kitchen, with an interesting take on pizza. Having an Italian background, I have relatives who boast a pizza oven in their backyard and when a crowd is expected, dozens of bases are prepared. Any number of toppings are used, but I have never seen it done quite the way Ben comes up with. For a start, he uses Turkish Bread as a base, which is a lot simpler than making pizza dough (me and yeast have never risen to the occasion together 🙂 ) . . . Take a look for yourself – easy-peasy and great for when the grand-kids come for a visit!

This month, and the following month, the programme tackles a very important issue . . . ageism in the workplace. More and more press articles are appearing about the age at which employers are turning away from hiring employees. It seems as if the barrier has been steadily dropping, and now some companies will not hire a new person older than fifty. Being told you are “over-qualified for the role” is often a euphemism for “you are too old“.

It’s no accident that my blog is called The Reluctant Retiree.

When I resigned a corporate position in my early-fifties I had every expectation of getting another similar management position. I was in my prime, and no stranger to proving myself fit for a role, having come up through the ranks of the male-dominated world of shipping and logistics.

In the end though, I was no match for the age-discrimination set against me, despite topping up my many years of experience with a Masters in Electronic Commerce (reflecting the growing nature of a virtual world in logistics).

Like many others in the same situation, although I wanted to continue working, and had plenty more to contribute, I slowly gave up applying for jobs. It got to the point where, quite simply, it was not only a waste of time in the anecdotal sense, . . . but it was under-utilisation of my precious time. These days, I have moved on to new and exciting other ventures, but I know that if I was still in the workplace, I would still be giving 110%, and there are thousands like me out there just waiting for the chance to do the same. In the next episode, we will explore some ways of making that a reality. . . . In the meantime, here is Episode 9, published July 2016  . . .